The First Date
by GrassFairy
Summary: Kid Flash and Artemis can't ignore it. Wally acknowledges it, but Artemis doesn't know what to think. This date could be a total disaster. Not just a simple one-shot
1. Chapter 1

Inspired by the time skip, I created this. Contains Wall/Art, action, romance, humor and some cute fluff moments later on.

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Ch 1~ What One Kiss Can Do

It had been a week since the kiss. A complete seven days- not like Artemis was counting…

The archer couldn't get it out of her head. Things like that… the effect should have worn off by now, but she found herself thinking about it _constantly_. Artemis sighed, slamming her locker shut. How would she know? Romance was something that the archer did not have any experience with. As Artemis made her way home, she subconsciously replayed the event again.

"_Happy New Year, Justice League." The robotic voice projected over the loudspeaker. A small smile played across the archer's lips as she heard bells chiming 'Auld Lang Syne'. Artemis felt a hand slip around her waist, then was hoisted up, held bridal style by her redheaded teammate. Artemis locked eyes with Kid Flash. "I should've done this a long time ago." He smiled. "No kidding." She replied, wrapping her arms around his neck. They leaned in, lips touching…_

Artemis had walked a few blocks before realizing that she had been daydreaming. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, hearing many unhappy grumbles from pedestrians as they pushed around her. Artemis didn't even notice, and continued to stand, frozen, wrapped in her own thoughts as passerbys flowed around her.

Who was she kidding? It was New Years… the tradition was to kiss. Kid was so spontaneous, so impulsive, maybe he had only acted because of that. It wouldn't have been surprising. Maybe he didn't like her… well, not in 'that' way. So many 'maybe's… Her shoulders slumped.

She regretted saying 'no kidding.' She regretted letting herself fall so far into this… this trap. He didn't like her… it was _one kiss_. It didn't mean anything… did it? Artemis started walking again, head clouded with confused thoughts.

She hadn't seen the speedster for seven days. The team was on a 'break' of sorts; they wouldn't have any duties unless something important came up. What would happen when she saw him? The thought made her stomach twist. Love was a dangerous thing.

As if emphasizing her last thought, a startlingly loud sound jarred Artemis out of her dejected state. The blast had been a car horn. The archer stepped back onto the sidewalk, out of the street. She pressed her back against the cool metal of a stoplight pole, feeling her blood pounding throughout her whole body. What was she doing? What was she thinking? Did she even _like_ him? Did _he_ even like her?

Frustrated, Artemis readjusted her messenger bag strap, then continued on her way home, blocking out any thoughts of the speedster that tried to sneak into her mind.

Wally couldn't wait to see her. For the whole week, he had been more fidgety than usual; getting in trouble at school, not paying attention, drifting off… daydreaming. But the day was almost done. Once school was out and he got home, he could stop trying, and just let his mind ask all the questions it wanted. What would she say? Would she deny him? One moment, he dreaded seeing her, too nervous to see her reaction, but another moment, he wanted to run, to leave the school and find her. Wally felt scared and excited... no, that wasn't it. He was neither; he was both. Apprehensive or anxious, ecstatic or frightened; his emotions were undecipherable.

A hollow sound interrupted the thoughts swirling around in his mind. Wally dove to the side, hitting the grass as a soccer ball flew over his head.

Now if he could only survive gym class.

He stood, just as another soccer ball flew towards him. The speedster sidestepped, scowling at the three boys who were using him as their target. It was usually at this point when Wally yearned to use his speed. He glanced behind him at a couple of girls, the ones he usually wanted to impress. But he just didn't feel it today.

Wally wasn't thinking about revenge on the jerks who picked on him, or the soccer babes watching. The only thing Wally cared about was _her._ Artemis. His team lined up, four other boys taking their places behind him. Any other day, he would've taken defense, so that he could hide his abilities, but today was not 'any other day.' Without realizing what he was doing, the speedster took point. His thoughts were elsewhere.

The other team started, dropping the ball back to one of their defenders, who predictably passed it back up to another forward. Subconsciously, Wally saw it coming. He ran, then dropped into a slide-tackle, intercepting the pass. He dribbled forward, moving fluently around the defense, then took a shot. It was a perfect hit to the top right corner of the goal.

No one saw that coming, not even Wally. The bell rang, and the kids started running back to the school so that they could get their backpacks and go home. Wally headed in too, the goal already forgotten.

"Hey, that was _really_ cool." Wally turned to see the group of soccer girls. The one who spoke had her sunshine blonde hair pulled back into a high ponytail. "How'd you do it?" She asked, giving him a flirty smile.

"Just… don't think about what you're doing," Wally shrugged, turning to leave.

"Wait-" The girl put a hand on his shoulder. He turned back, something hitting his chest. He gripped the soccer ball that the girl had tossed to him.

"Would you mind showing us some moves?" She asked, putting a hand on her hip. This girl was his type: tall, curved, _blonde…_

On a normal day, Wally would've taken that offer.

But this wasn't a normal day. Wally's whole standard of 'normal' was changing; all of it turned upside-down by a single green archer. Those so called 'normal days' were over. He gave the soccer ball back to the girl.

"Uhh, actually, I think I have a date." He said. The smile fell from her face, replaced by a look of confusion. She looked down at the white and black checkered sphere in her hands, then looked back up to the red head.

But Wally was long gone.

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Nope, not gonna be a oneshot, far from it. ;)

I have 2 requests for you; 1. Review? I want to know what you thought! 2. What was your opinion on S2E1?


	2. Chapter 2

Ahh! I'm so sorry for my two month hiatus! Thanks goes to all of my reviewers, Irenerb, Field Empathy, Randommonkeyz998, SpitfireChick, BatmanPrincess43, Sarah-Leigh-Black, Too lazy to sign in (love that, by the way), Mander13, UnePetiteHistoire, J9162, and spazmonkey s-j! Thanks also to my subscribers and favoriters!

All of you made this my most popular story, and it's only the first chapter! I really cannot thank you guys enough! Truthfully, I was a little scared to update because I was afraid of disappointing you all. Well, hope you like this chapter, and I promise Chapter 3 will not take that long to get out.

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Ch 2~ Shadows in the Night

Artemis unlocked the door to her apartment, slinging her backpack onto the floor as she pushed the door shut. She headed for her room, passing her mom in the hallway.

"Artemis, how was your day?" The woman asked in a happy tone, lips turned up in a smile. Artemis stopped walking. Her shoulders slumped.

"I don't wanna talk about it," she muttered, ducking into her room. Ms. Crock opened her mouth to say something, but before she could speak, her daughter's door slammed shut. The retired assassin frowned and wheeled away. She would let her daughter cool off before going to talk to her again. At least she wouldn't ruin a good day with the bad news she had.

Artemis fell onto her bed back-first. She glared up at the ceiling, eyebrows drawn together in thought. After a moment, the archer groaned, slamming a pillow over her face. Lying there, Artemis realized how tired she was. It was only four o'clock, but she felt utterly exhausted. All she wanted to do was take a nap.

_A few extra hours of sleep couldn't hurt, _Artemis thought. The archer took the pillow off her face, sliding it into a more comfortable position under her head. She rolled onto her right side, facing the wall. Artemis was asleep the instant her eyes closed.

Paula Crock quietly opened her daughter's door. She peeked in, catching a glimpse of the fair-haired teenager curled up on her bed. She reached past the door and flipped the lights off. "Sleep well, Artemis," she whispered, closing the door without a sound.

Artemis found herself in the Cave, alone. "Hello?" She called out. Her voice echoed down the endless labyrinth of hallways. A sinister, yet familiar laugh boomed throughout the cavern. Artemis broke into a run, dashing down a random series of corridors. The haunting voice followed her, never fading, only growing louder and louder. Taunts joining the chorus of echoes, plaguing her mind until she couldn't hear her own thoughts. Artemis kept running. Were there always this many hallways?

Suddenly, the booming voice stopped, a different one taking its place. It was too soft for her to make out, but Artemis could feel that she was getting closer to its source. The archer came upon a cavern. She stepped out of the hall, and felt her foot slip down. Artemis grabbed hold of a stalagmite before plunging into a deep black hole as wide as a football field, and there was no telling how deep. When did that get there? Artemis looked up, catching sight of two figures on the other side of the cavern.

It was her father, holding Kid Flash by the throat.

"No!" She yelled. Her father let out a booming howl of a laugh. He released Wally. The speedster tumbled into the pit. Artemis screamed, but it was as if her voice made no sound.

"Artemis," she heard. _"Artemis."_

Artemis heard her name and shot into a sitting position, inhaling sharply.

"Hey, Artemis," the archer could hear the voice coming from outside her window. In one fluent motion, she vaulted off the bed, reaching underneath it. She had her preloaded crossbow aimed at the window in milliseconds.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" It was dark out, and Artemis could only make out a silhouette. But she didn't need to see the figure's face to recognize his voice.

"Wally?" The archer was completely bewildered. She set the crossbow aside and rushed to the window. Her fingers fumbled as she unlocked and lifted the window. Artemis couldn't help but notice how close their faces were. Neither of them spoke for a moment.

"How did you find me?" Artemis asked, breaking the silence.

"My best friend is an excellent hacker, not to mention the protégé of Batman. The real question should be 'why did it take me so long to find you?' Sorry about that." KF scratched the back of his head.

"Ok… but my apartment is three stories off the ground, how…?" Artemis trailed off, glancing down at the street below.

"It wasn't easy. And I'm sorta on the edge here. Literally. Can I… come in?" The speedster asked somewhat sheepishly.

Artemis nodded, backing away from the window as Kid Flash climbed in. She couldn't help feeling… weird. Wally was _in her room._ Artemis never imagined having anyone from the team in her home, let alone him.

"So why are you here? Is someone in trouble?" Artemis asked hastily, not bothering to hide the worried tone in her voice.

"No, no, everybody's fine, at least from what I know." Wally replied. He could see how tense Artemis was.

"Why? Is something wrong?" He asked. Artemis shook her head, grabbing her arm nervously.

"No. I-Its nothing." She muttered, remembering her nightmare. Then, she looked up at the speedster, confused.

"Why _are_ you here Wally?" Artemis asked quietly.

"I wanted to talk," he replied. Artemis couldn't hear anything unusual in the tone of his voice or read his facial expression on account of the darkness. Kid gave no hints about what he wanted to discuss. The archer would just have to ask.

"About…?"

"Well, I was gunna…" He seemed to be having trouble finding the right words. Artemis was having trouble finding her breath.

"I want to ask you out."

Artemis froze. She couldn't speak. If it hadn't been dark, Wally would've seen Artemis's face flush beet red.

"A-a date? I- uh- like, right now?" Artemis couldn't form her words into proper sentences. She had to remind herself how to breathe. The archer had never been asked out before. She imagined dates as two people going to the movies or going out to dinner. Those kinds of dates made her stomach twist. In truth, they kind of… scared her.

"Well, like… yeah. A-and I know it's late, but I was thinking we could go on patrol together." Now Wally was the one blushing.

Artemis was flooded with relief. No fancy dinner-dates, thank God. She glanced at the clock. It read 12:00 AM, exactly. "I think it's perfect," she replied, smiling.

"Great! But, you might wanna change first," Wally said, gesturing to the school uniform Artemis had fallen asleep in.

"Oh, yeah. Be right back." Artemis slipped out of her room, making her way silently down the hall.

She walked into the living room, retrieving her bow and quiver from behind the couch. She grabbed her stealth outfit from its hiding spot, using the laundry room as a changing room.

Once she was dressed, Artemis headed back down the hallway, taking extra care to be quiet. Outside her door, she stopped and took a step back. Artemis let out a slow breath, then slipped back into her room. Wally was already in his uniform, stealth mode activated.

"Took you long enough," he teased. Artemis rolled her eyes, but there was a good-natured expression on her face.

"Wally, if your mom was an ex-assassin, you'd try to be quiet too, especially when sneaking out of the house."

"Touché," Kid Flash grumbled.

They stepped out onto the ledge. Artemis aimed and fired a grappling hook arrow. The projectile flashed through the air, metal cord trailing behind. The head stuck into a building across the street. Artemis took out a clip and attached it to the cable. Wally grabbed the handle, wrapping an arm around Artemis's waist.

"Hang on tight babe," he said, jumping off the ledge. Artemis nearly yelped in surprise. She held on, the lights of late night traffic flashing below them. The archer wasn't used to being this close to someone… however, she couldn't help but notice how snugly they fit. A smile flashed across her lips.

Wally looked down at the archer, catching her smile. He loved the way she looked, with her blonde hair trailing behind her, the way her eyes shimmered; Kid Flash just… loved the way she was.

Artemis's attempts at keeping quiet had been in vain. Paula Crock wheeled up to Artemis's door, noticing that it wasn't closed all the way. She looked in, catching sight of the empty bed. Artemis's mother rolled into the room, gazing out the open window. Normal parents would've probably broken down or called the cops, but Paula Crock was no 'normal' parent. She might have even smiled under different circumstances. However, the circumstances on this particular night were very, very dangerous.

"Artemis… any other night but this one," the retired assassin muttered to herself. "Be careful," she whispered, wheeling out of the room, leaving the door and window ajar.

The man lifted a pair of binoculars down from his eyes. Beneath his mask, the villain's lips stretched into a sinister grin.

"Better watch your back girlie. I'm coming for you." He laughed slowly, backing up. The villain disappeared, fading from view like a shadow in the night.

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I really, really hope you guys liked this chapter as much as the first one! Tell me what you think! And please, if you notice any errors, tell me that too!


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